Monday, August 31, 2015

Yesterday I backed Max Nervieux's Legend of the Elements Kickstarter. I pulled the trigger in part based on Dr. Tom's interview with him and part on my love of the genre. I haven't yet had a chance to look at the draft, and I'll probably hold off for a little while longer. Agfter I got back from Gen Con, inspired by The Warren and Worlds in Peril, I started sketching out a PbtA Wuxia hack. Designer Renee Knipe had worked on something like that, coming from the direction of Monsterhearts. Her take on it is leaner & stronger, and focused on the personal interactions. I'm not sure where mine's aimed. Or rather I know whee I want it aimed, but I'm still thinking about it. Anyway, I thought I'd post the rough sketches I've put together so far. I'll probably circle back and flesh it out again next month.

OK this is a rough, rough starting draft of some ideas. I’m
trying to figure out out how much I want to do classic martial arts films vs.
how much I want to figure out how to do Feng Shui without over elaborate
mechanics.

THOUGHTS ON MARTIAL ARTS/WUXIA SETTINGS

In my head, there’s a broad family to this genre, with
several lines.

FRPG Wuxia: This has a mix of classical Chinese
traditions mixed with fantasy elements. Essentially it wants to present a
pseudo-China with magic. Scholars and sorcerers exist as playable classes. Big
magic’s everywhere. You have lots of monsters. Weapons of the Gods (and
the later Legends of Wulin); Qin; The Celestial Empire, and Dragon
Lines all fit into this. For me the strong focus on cultural specificity
and heavy magic-using PCs defines this.

Classic Shaw: Almost no “magic,” instead there’s some
strange martial arts powers. Drama conflicts. Has a historical feel to it even
when some of the situations become gonzo. Wing Chun, My Young Auntie, The
36th Chamber of Shaolin, Come Drink with Me; Heroes of the East.

Characters can take five harm. Once the last Harm box has
been ticked, characters begin to take Last Breath tests (+Tough). On a 10+ the
character stabilizes and regains one point of Harm. On a 7-9 the character
either goes out and stabilizes or stays awake and marks a death tick. On a 6+
the character can either a) go out and take a single death tick or b) stay up
and take two death ticks. Death ticks remain until dealt with by serious
treatment. Five death ticks and you die.

Wuxia characters have a couple of additional conditions
which can occur. Most conditions can be cleared by a recover action or
bargaining with the GM to take a failure of some kind in place of a rolled
success.

Rivalries: If a character has a rivalry with
another character, they cannot use the Coordinate or Help moves with them.
Characters can clear rivalries in several ways. If the rival character uses
Help on them, the player may clear the rivalry. If the character sees his rival
struck by a Hated Foe or another rival, they may opt to clear the rivalry.
Players may also clear Rivalries through a series of interactions if they want-
usually revealing a previous connection, shared interest or secret relationship
between them.

Emotional Conditions: Classic debilities
include things like Angry, Loss of Confidence, Sudden Fascination. These create
changes in the fiction which the GM can compel- often to have events occur. The
GM may also bargain to allow the player to clear these by taking a failure
instead or a success or more randomly, by rerolling a success. Supernatural
foes may create panic, dread, or chills, all of which may be compelled.

Crippling:A classic element of these
genres is that characters may have their chi disrupted, their legs broken, or
their hands pierced. Crippling a named foe may be a condition to defeating
them. When a PC becomes crippled they will lose some kind of effectiveness,
both in the narrative and mechanically.

Wuxia Hard Bargains

This genre features weird twists, complex conspiracies,
strange revelations, and bizarre betrayals. Hard choices and bargains may
revolve around establishing new fiction about the setting: “I succeed, but
realize she’s my long lost sister,” or “I deal damage but recognize that my foe
has also been taught by my master.”

More examples in the GM section. Complications for romantic
entanglements. Misunderstandings as a huge part of things. These should be a
central GM move. Sherri suggested that The Trickster might have a move to Clear
the Air? Maybe one to Cause Misunderstandings.

Talk about how to handle twists and secrets- some players
may not be cool with those revelations. One way is to see response and if it
doesn’t go down well, then shift it to be simply a Misunderstanding. It turns
out she wasn’t betraying you after all, it just looked that way. Advising
caution about not pulling the rug out from under players- meta conversations
about these elements in game.

Bonds and Hated Foes

Characters begin with five points worth of bonds. These can
be established with fellow PCs or with NPCs- they can also be established on
the fly. The max starting bond value is a +2. Players may burn a bond point to
reroll, to clear Harm, or to remove a debility- if you can justify how your
connection pushes you. This doesn’t necessarily represent a reciprocal bond,
but how they push you forward. {Characters may have a max of 8 points worth of
bonds}. Hated Foes are much the same; players may begin with 2 points of Hated
Foes. These points may be burnt when opposing those foes.

Reputation/Respect: Another mechanic????

Moves

THESE ARE TERRIBLE MOVE NAMES TO START

Battle Mooks

You cut through a mob of faceless enemies, Roll +Fight. On a
7-9 pick two of the options below, on a 10+ pick three. On a 6- you suffer a
debility. Capture’s especially on the table as they swarm you.

Reduce Their Number (may be taken multiple times)

Push them Back

Keep Them From Something

Escape Encirclement

Reduce Harm

Dispirit Them

Duel

You battle against a named foe. Roll +Fight. On a 7-9 you do
a Harm and may pick one of the options below, on a 10+ you pick two. If
multiple heroes battle against a single foe, they may get in each other’s way.
This can be avoided by using Help/Hinder. If multiple characters attack a foe
without someone first taking the coordinate move, all characters suffer a -1 to
their roll and the lowest roller(s) gain rivalry with the highest.

Do Additional Harm

Keep Them From Something

Move Them

Reduce Harm

Gain Respect

Make a Point

Allow Escape

Study Technique +1 Forward

Spot Weakness +2 Hold for other characters

Cripple- counts as two picks and Harm

Defy Danger

Roll +Tough when you’re faced with an unusual physical
danger outside of combat. It can also include players dealing with Legendary
Secret Weapons or techniques. They may not be able to fight back against these
until they manage to develop a technique of their own. On a 10+, you do what
you set out to, the threat doesn’t come to bear. On a 7–9, you stumble,
hesitate, or flinch: the GM will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or
ugly choice.

Coordinate

Roll when you plan out a strategy for dealing with a named
foe or foes. Roll +Wise or +Calm. On a 10+ all attackers gain +1 Forward. On a
7-9 the GM may offer you a hard bargain or you simply negate the -1 penalty and
rivalry gain.

Deal with Strange

Roll +Calm or Odd when you’re faced with the strange,
occult, or arcane. . On a 10+, you do what you set out to and keep yourself
together. On a 7–9, you find yourself unnerved: the GM will offer you a worse
outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice. Strange effects usually cause
debilities.

Help/Hinder

Roll appropriate stat. On a 10+ the object of your attention
gains a +1/-1. On a 7-9 they gain that bonus/penalty, but you’re linked to any
negative effect from the exchange (Harm, debilities, etc).

Demonstrate Prowess

You exert your presence in an artistic performance, in a
contest of skill, making an impassioned speech, or the like. Roll relevant
stat. On a 10+ you impress and convince. On a 7-9 the GM will offer you a hard
bargain. If in direct competition against foes, the bargain will usually relate
to them. Some competitions may have several legs, in which case the GM may keep
a running total of your success rolls (bargains taken move the value up to a
10). In this case the GM may set a minimal total the player needs to obtain.
The player may bargain to raise their results before the finish line.

Conceding is a kind of bargain, demonstrating intelligence.
The GM will negate a previous hard choice if a concession is made gracefully.
Common contest bargains include loss of reputation, revelation of weaknesses,
endangering loved ones, or rivalries.

Wire-Fu

This game assumes characters can always perform great stunts
and acts of acrobatics. This Move comes into play when two characters compete
for something using such techniques. If two players compete, they declare which
stat they wish to use. The winner gains control or achieves their objective
before the loser. The loser gains “Rivalry” with the winner. The GM may offer
the loser a chance to reroll, if they take a hard bargain (usually gaining the
Angry debilitation). This switch only happens once.

A competition with another PC may have several legs or
multiple competitors. Regardless, in any exchange each character can only gain
a rivalry with a single person.

Sneak Past

You attempt to deceive or trick someone: stealth past a
location, conceal an object, disguise your appearance, create a distraction.
Roll +Wise. On a 10+ you succeed. On a 7-9 the GM will offer you a hard
bargain. Keep in mind this genre often allows for weird and absurd stratagems.

Reveal Secrets

When you want to recall a piece of secret lore or study a
scene for clues, roll +Wise. On a 10+ you may ask three questions; on a 7-9 you
may ask two. You gain +1 Hold when using that information.

{Insert Typical Questions here}

Gather Info

When you want to pick up gossip on the street, read a room
full of people, and assess an opponent, roll +Attractive.

{Insert Typical Questions here}

Romance

You may establish or develop a romantic bond with a
character. This goes beyond mere flirtation. Roll +Attractive (- current level
of bond?). On a 10+ you succeed in making a significant connection. You create
or improve your bond with that character. On a 7-9 the GM will offer you a hard
bargain. On a 6-, you will reduce any established bond and you will have
fallout of some kind.

Recover

Roll +Tough. This requires downtime and a place to recover.
On a 10+ the player may pick three from the list below. On a 7-9 they may pick
two. Some debilities may require additional resources like a Chi doctor, a
magic spring, or a return home to train and meditate.

Be Skillful

The character uses their talents to affect the physical
world in some way: shattering a boulder, lifting up a massive object, disarming
a trap, casting an oracle. Roll relevant stat. On a 10+ you succeed and may
take 1 forward. On a 7-9 the GM will offer you a hard bargain to succeed. On a
6- your efforts have made things worse.

Deal With Spirits

You find a way past the unusual defenses of supernatural
beings. Roll +Odd. On a 10+ you find a way to affect them as you would other
foes. On a 7-9 you do so but there’s a significant cost involved.

New Technique

The character realizes that they must go off and develop a
new technique if they are to succeed. Decide what foe or situation must be
overcome. Roll +(the number of times you have faced that foe). On a 10+ you
figure out a revolutionary solution. In some cases, you will use this to craft
a new move. Often, this will allow you to overcome a foe’s invincible technique
(deadly poison, head-cutting weapon, ghost form, golden armor). On a 7-9 the GM
offers you a hard bargain- a cost either associated with the development or
with the execution of the new technique.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

When we’ve hit the end of a decade on past lists, I’ve
reviewed some of the Post-Apocalyptic media from that era. This time I had
enough items I opted to split the decade in half. This covers 2000 to 20004. I’ve
probably missed some items here, so chime in if you see a gap.

There are some bad films there. No good-bad like Hell Comes to Frogtown, but “we spent good
money to make you mutant meh” bad. Still we get the awesome Kairo and about ten minutes of Casshern is awesome.

To keep this list easy to read I’ve tightened the years
covered. As we get closer to the present the lists expand and contract weirdly.
I include mostly core books, but also significant setting material or
sourcebooks. I consolidate “spin-off” and miscellaneous supplements into a
single entry. For example at the end you'll see round-up entries with
post-apocalyptic elements. Given the number of great things published I haven't
included everything I want. I try to list revised editions which significantly
change a line or present a milestone. Generally I only include published
material- print or electronic. I skip freebie or self-published games. I'm sure
I've left something off without adequate reason; feel free to add a comment
about a line I missed (if published in 2010). I've arranged these by year and
then alphabetically within that year.

Apocalypse World is
tremendous game. It gets a great deal of love and attention for the mechanics. It
created division for its language and commands to the GM. But I’ll leave that
for other reviews and comments. How well does Apocalypse World function as a
post-apocalyptic game?

Because I’ve gone
through so many of these games, I instinctively want to put Apocalypse World in
a box. Where do I sort it? It has a Mad Max feel, but it’s not treading the
same ground as octaNe or Redline. It isn’t the gonzo of Gamma World or Mutant
Future, but it does have some strangeness baked in. It isn’t the gunlove of
Twilight 2000 or Morrow Project, but it does have violence as a critical
element of the play. Vincent Baker has said he hadn’t done much with other
post-apocalyptic games and I can believe that. It feels like it’s taken themes hinted
at in other media (Doomsday, Thunderdome,
The Road, Jeremiah) but created something creatively new.

Apocalypse World
focuses on people. Players pick a playbook for a character type, no duplicates.
We’ve seen archetypes and templates in other games, but the physicality of the
handout and the immediate uniqueness focuses the experience. And the playbooks
say a lot about the background. AW doesn’t spend any time talking about the
world, not even to the GM (Master of Ceremonies) here. It knows the players
have a vision of these places look like. It doesn’t have to have a history, gazetteer,
or even an explanation of how things fell apart. That’s not important.

Yet we do get a
strongly conveyed world, a sense of what life in this place is like. Again, the
playbooks carry this weight. We see the importance of tech and scavenging, not
for ancient artifacts but gear for survival. We see that force and violence
exist everywhere, but that they have a cost. Most importantly we learn that
people are tools and double-edged swords. Relationships and connections bleed
into everything. More than anything else
the Moves, the things the game structures rules for you to do and do interestingly,
show what the plays going to be like. You know this isn’t going to be like
other games.

When I showed AW to
a friend who was preparing a Fallout game he was a little thrown off. I’d only
just gotten the book so I hadn’t groked it, but it had “Apocalypse” in the
title. Looking back now I can see why. It might have a similar premise, but
tonally it goes in another direction. You might be able to bring a Fallout skin to AW, but it wouldn’t be Fallout.
That isn’t to say AW doesn’t work with other games. It can, but in particular
ways. Sourcebooks for other games can be useful for the GM, helping them build
the fluff and giving them apocalyptica to barf forth. And AW can perhaps show
you how you might make another PA game more intimate, more human. But that
being said, Apocalypse World knows
what it wants to do and sticks by it. It has a vision of the world and the
play. In other games that might serve as a straight-jacket, but instead that
weirdly opens it up. It isn’t for everyone, but it remains a great game and a
great resource for anyone seriously engaging with what life would be like in
these settings.

While Baker hasn’t
published any big supplements for the game, you can find a ton of fan-made material
on the web. A second edition of AW is currently in playtest.

Please, PLEASE tell us what the game's about early in your
rulebook. And not in vague terms, like "a game of extraordinary people
doing interesting things." As well don't count on your audience reading
the game fiction you put at the front. Somewhere in some of the first pages or
on the back cover, give us the premise: clearly and directly. It took a lot of
hunting to glean that Archetype
offered a fantasy post-apocalyptic game. In it, monsters have taken over the
world and the only way to battle them is taking on their powers and essence.
That's not a bad concept and the game has several things going for it: nice
color artwork and a Tarot-based resolution system. On the other hand, the setting’s
vague presentation and a 48-item glossary straight out of WW make me nervous.
The general mechanics of attributes and skills also owe more than a little to
WoD. The game's $15 as a 95 page pdf ($30 for the softcover). That's a little high
for me. But if you're intrigued by Tarot-based mechanics or really like slightly
unspecified fantasy post-apocalyptic settings you might check it out.

I'm always unsure where to put these "Dying Earth"
games. They're end of days, and the world fell and changed long ago...but
that's so far in the past as to be a forgotten dream. Books like Dancers at the End of Time, Castle Brass, and The Dying Earth have this feeling. We’ve seen a few games on these
lists as well. Most have a mythical or dreamlike quality (Low-Life, La Terre Cruese,
and maybe Polaris if you read it that
way). In any case, Chronicles of Future
Earth offers a strange and far future world. A BRP sourcebook published by
Chaosium, on the one hand it feels a like Dark
Sun, on the other like Dune. So
perhaps that combined with a more serious version of Dying Earth? Or perhaps it’s just a wonderful and weird pastiche. I
liked it when I read through it, but at the same time the completeness and
detail of the setting threw me off a little. You have a lot of strange and
alien races and assumptions to get across to the players. They're well
presented, as you'd expect from the ever-excellent Sarah Newton (Mindjammer). She never talks down to the
readers and potential GMs. She gores for high-concept and plays it through.
That can be intimidating. But it remains a great read. If you like weird
sci-fantasy, I recommend this book.

This might not seem post-apocalyptic, but I’ll keep claiming
it is. It just feels that way to me. The English Civil War ends with the death
of Charles I...or it would end but that murder instead breaks the Divine Right
of Kings and shatters something in the world. The conflict continues between
the alchemically backed Royalists and the Clockwork Roundheads. But order has
broken down, and society has been splintered. Different factions and faiths
wander and struggle for the souls of the world. There's a sense of isolation,
with villages left alone and waiting for the rest of the end times to
come. Think post-apocalyptic by way of A
Field in England.

Clockwork & Chivalry doesn't have
to be played post-apocalyptic. You could do a conventional military game. But I
love the idea of the old world ending, and an uncertainty about what comes
next. If you like historical games, I recommend checking this out. You can see
my comments on the 1st edition core and the Divers and Sundry sourebook.

At first choosing Dark
Sun as a core D&D 4e setting puzzled me. But in retrospect it makes
sense. Dark Sun stands out from any
other world and has a clear and direct path of play. Birthright's more niche, Al-Quadim
is more echoing than original, and Mystara's close to Forgotten Realms. Still…why
no Planescape or Spelljammer? Dark Sun
offers a fantasy setting of dead gods and polluting magic. It once had a
distinct and striking look in the TSR days, with Brom’s artwork the
cornerstone. The 4e version loses that look and so it blends in with the rest
of the line. WotC decently supported this setting with a creature book, several
modules, and many electronic adventures for organized play. A lot of people
love this Dark Sun, though some
object to the truly weird stuff in the later TSR edition. I'll be curious if
WotC returns to this well with 5e or decide it has run dry.

A short, systemless setting by Brad Murray (Hollowpoint,
Diaspora). It has rained for a hundred years. Our world crumbled as the
water levels rose, the ice caps melted, and temperatures slowly climbed. The
book suggests that any game played be set in your hometown, combining these
ideas with your personal experience. Deluge
provides systemless information, like typical character archetypes, but then
talks about what to consider when adapting that to a game. It's a great
approach which other universal supplements could benefit from. The game
includes randomized tools for building the world, ideas on challenges &
opposition, and suggestions for what to do in this world. Deluge is a smart, short (34 text pages), and useful supplement. It’s
great as a setting, inspiration for similar apocalypses, and model for how to
present information. It is currently available PWYW on RPGNow.

A cute, light indie rpg. A Kickstarter version superseded the
original in 2012, offering graphical improvements. It dresses up the original
game and made it more presentable without bloating the book. In Engine Heart humanity has died. But it
has left behind many robots. But unlike many robopocalypses, in the aftermath
you play tiny and unobtrusive service robots. There's a simple resolution
system with characters built on a set of skills connected to three tracks
(Intelligence, Chassis, Crux). A few figured stats complement these. Character also
pick some additional features (arc welder, solar powered) and defects (high
maintenance, overheating). The game weirdly gives little direction of the GM
(or Programmer) as to what play looks like and what characters should be doing.
There's a page or two, plus an example of play, but that's it. Engine Heart is currently free on
RPGNow, so if you're at all intrigued you should check it out.

aka Gamma World 7th edition aka Gamma
World 4e. This edition offers the most radical reworking of the original
game by far. Rather than a distant or near future nuclear apocalypse, it posits
a reality warping effect. Though...looking around at the various publisher
blurbs and reviews from the time, you might not realize that. Instead these
focus on mechanics and presentation. It's a little odd. Though I knew GW7/4e
had changed the background, I had to hunt around for a long time to find a good
synopsis. Essentially a Swiss Supercollider crashes together many possible
realities into one. I like the idea, because anything can happen...BUT.

…It sounds like Rifts and other kitchen sink games, but it
looks like Gamma World. I'm not sure
how I feel about that. There's a deliberately light and funny tone to the
material which underlines the absurdity rather than embracing it. Still it has
a lot of the classic elements: weird creatures, robots, fragments of old tech,
random mutations, so perhaps it is still "my" Gamma World. (Hey you
kids, get off of my lawn.)

This Gamma World comes in a big box,
looking much like a starter set. In some ways it is. It uses a digest sized
book and has lots of flashy bits (maps, tokens, and cards). It builds on
D&D 4th edition, offering a particular feel and a focus on balanced combat and
builds. GW sticks close but makes a few changes. WotC notably shut off the
possibility of third parties making new items for GW. I don't know if that
helped or hindered the game. I do know that I skipped on it because of the
cards. The main box includes two sets of cards covering general mutations and
one shot mutant abilities. There's the idea that the continuing reality warping
means anyone could change at any time. That's great and I love card-based
support materials. But WotC opted to release more cards in random booster
packs. Nope. I'd seen that before
and it never turned out well.

Most gamers I knew who picked this up skipped the additional cards. And most
really liked what they saw of the game. WotC supported GW modestly, but it felt
like they didn't know what to do with the line. I suspect the middling success
of this means we won't see a version based on D&D 5e, at least not from
WotC itself. You can find copies of this out in the wild. If you're curious
about the Gamma World, there are few
better places that Critical Hit's assembled resources on it. Reviews, character sheets, new tools.
That's a great place to start.

A Belgian rpg set in a near-future devastated by pollution.
The title comes from the Latin for Free Will. Humanity has retrated to
megaplexes and supernatural forces rule the outside world. It has a dark
feeling to it, perhaps close to something like Armageddon from
Eden? The reviews suggest it has serious problems with layout and presentation.
It seems to be an amateur publication, but one with an ISBN and physical copy.
It uses a resource-spend mechanic for resolution, not one of my
favorites.

A chunky (360 pages) Polish rpg. And it has an English
translation from last year clocking in at 472 pages(!). It is notably
sequestered in the adult section of RPGNow. And before I go on, I have to quote
from the publisher's blurb there:

Clocks are no more mere time counting tools. Every jolt of the pointer is
symbolic - ticking is similar to that of a bomb detonator, promising a sudden
explosion... It is just an empty hope for a painless finale. Existence is hard to
discern from torture. When a man is at the brink of his limits, the fate kicks
him in the corner, leaves him to catch some breath. It is back only when the
victim is standing on its own again. It seems that torturing a helpless victim
is not providing fatum with enough satisfaction.

Okaaaaaaaaaay.

In this dark future, Corporations have taken over and then abandoned a
devastated Earth. You play characters left behind in this wasteland, monitored
by the Corps and battling against DESTRO. (note: Not from Cobra, instead a rogue
electronic force). Players can be robots, mutant humans, cyborgs, or even
weirder things. The game has several modes: pulp to grimdark and smooth to
crunchy. It reminds me a little of Systems Failure and GURPS Reign of Steel. If this kind of mechanical dystopian world appeals to you,
read the extensive blurb at RPGNow (which has a book length of "about
1,000,000 characters" as a selling point).

News has gone around that with the new Chaosium
reorganization, they will discontinue their "Monograph" series. These
fan-made, sometimes lightly edited, projects for CoC and BRP ranged widely in
quality. Some could be great, but others missed the mark. There's a world of
difference between Rubble & Ruin
and the already mentioned Chronicles of
Future Earth, and in more than theme. I'd hoped for a generic toolkit for
BRP Post-Apocalyptic campaigns. But R&R has a specific, near future setting
it wants to play out. It clearly comes from elements developed for an ongoing
house campaign. It has the feel of a '70's PA game, but less gonzo. Like Gamma
World dialed down several degrees. The near-future nature means that the
setting can't really go too crazy. A little over half of the book's devoted to
system mechanics and new BRP rules (cyber enhancements, gangs, prospecting,
etc). As I understand it the rapidly evolving nature of "core" BRP
means that some of these don't fit with what later became canon. If you like
BRP (in the Chaosium, Legendary, RQ6 or other flavors) then you might find this
a useful product.

I'm struck by how many love letters to early gonzo we've
seen on these lists. Games breathing in and out the weird of the earliest editions of Gamma World. Or at least the GW before
they shook it up to make the world coherent. I didn't see throwbacks like that on
the Horror or Steampunk lists. The closest would be games aping the style and
presentation of White White books, Nosferatuclones. In Supers we saw some games
hearkening back to the central mechanic of older games (FASERIP and its many
offspring). But games like S&SS fall pretty close to the Gamma World tree...before running off on
spindly, mutated legs.

Sorcery & Super Science takes
place several hundred years in the future. In the early 22nd Century an
explosion of the weird began the break down the old laws of nature and
humanity. Eventually conflicts shattered the moon and brought devastation
across the world. Survivors formed enclaves and new peoples appeared, including
mutants of all kinds. The game focuses on the classic explore, exploit, and
exterminate formula. But it does that with a good mix of humor and clever
concepts. It has gonzo, but it rarely points at it. Instead it plays the
straight man. So the when the picture of a mutant cactus cowboy shows up, we
don’t dwell on it. The art reminds me of classic Gamma World and After the
Bomb, though the quality never rises to that level. S&SS has a class
system, called "catalysts" and a new resolution mechanic. This
"floating dice system" seems a little clunky when I read it; I'd have
to actually see it in play.

Is it good? I've enjoyed what I've read of it. I recommend checking out the
48-page quick start, The House of Blue Men. The smart and careful Johann Four has a lengthy review worth reading. He likes
it, though sees some weakness in the presentation. However Intelligent Cactus
Gunfighter in a Duster invalidates that. Expeditious Retreat Press has
supported the game with many pdf supplements on lost items and new creature.
They're short, but might be useful for GMs running these kinds of games.

13. Roundup: Zombies

What's the plural for a large group of zombies? A gaggle? A
zaggle? I'm guessing a horde, but that's a little generic. We need a special
word for it. Anyway 2010 presents us with a murder of Zombie rpgs:

Against the Dead tries to stand out
as a ZRPG by using popular system, in this case d20 Modern. However, Against
the Dead does comes to that a little after that system's run its course.
The publisher material suggests that it aims for a fast version of those rules.
One interesting concept is that the zombie campaign arc breaks into three eras:
Emergence, Ascendance, and Apocalypse. The goals and available mechanics vary between
those. Also, though the cover and company blurbs suggest a conventional and
realistic survival, apparently you can also play magic users in Against the Dead. That’s a significant
split from the game's general presentation.

Outbreak: Undead positions itself as both an rpg and a survival
guide. That at least makes it stand out from the crowd. However usually I'm
looking for game-able material. OBUD It
has a number of flaws which make it not the kind of game I like. I'm not fond
of systems which have you make a character based on yourself. I know exactly
how long I'll survive in that environment. The layout and graphic design- done
as survivor notebooks- feels forced. It is also irritating to read. Others may
embrace the verisimilitude of this approach.

War of the Dead
offers a series of chronological zombie survival scenarios, tracing the
outbreak and collapse of civilization. It uses Savage Worlds, but could be
easily adapted to other ZRPG systems. Three collections bring together the
individual weeks together into a three act structure (so far).

Z-Corpsis a French ZRPG set primarily in America. That's a little funny
to me, but says something about the thematic connection between the zombies and
a decayed US. Maybe? Or perhaps Redneck zombies just seems more cool than
whatever the French equivalent would be. Z-Corps
uses the D6 system, which may dig for the ease of play. It appears to still be
in print and have several supplements (including Denver and Savannah
sourcebooks).

14. Corner Cases

This year offers an odd mix of games that fall at the
margins for various reasons. Some games dip their toes into the field. Many of
the Game Chef designs for 2010 have a post-apocalyptic theme. OOH The Fallout is
a post-apocalyptic playset for Fiasco.
As it says, "Mutants, motorcycle gangs and Rami’s Rat Kabobs." Mirrors is a
sourcebook for World of Darkness offering several new campaign frames.
"The World of Darkness Destroyed" shows how to run the various supernaturals
in the wake of a global apocalypse. It isn't Monte Cook's World of
Darkness, which has a strong and clear focus. Instead its a tooolkit for
running these kinds of games.

Some corner case games have minimal information available. Neuhanse is
a Finnish rpg done as a public beta. Set in the Baltic Sea in 2070 following an
apocalypse, the game doesn't seem to have been taken any further. COLLAPSE is a
pdf-only self-published PA game. It looks like near future maybe?

Two others are interesting but lie right on the edge. More disaster than PA,
Abandon All Hope, seems a little like Metamorposis Alpha, set in the immediate
aftermath. are aboard a massive penitentiary spacehulk. However, something has
gone terribly wrong- and an encounter with a dimensional rift has let
"things" into our reality and...ok, let's just cut to the chase- they
take Event Horizon premise, marry it to Pandorum and stick aboard a prison
ship.

Dance of the Damnedis card-based game,
using a standard playing deck. This storytelling GM-less game sets up a basic
situation and offers rules to allowing players to adjudicate and develop the
narrative. Here the set-up echoes The Masque of Red Death or the frame of the
Decameron. The characters have taken refuge in a castle to escape a plague
ravaging the countryside. There's a competitive element to the game as players
pass cards onto one another. Suits allow for different results and twists.

Monday, August 24, 2015

As I've posted about before, we're beginning a campaign arc for OCI called "Sky Racers Unlimited." When the group chose this as one of their portals, I knew I wanted to do something weird and more crunchy. Normally Action Cards is a little more crunchy than Fate (advancement, damage). But I wanted to be able to use all of the cool Crimson Skies planes I had and borrow a bunch from X-Wing mechanics. I wanted the dogfighting to be less abstract and allow players the chance to customize their own planes. So below you can see the bastardized system I've come up with. I have no idea if it is going to work, and more importantly, if it will be fun at the table. At the very least it should look cool. It's a good group and they're pretty good about adjusting values and making changes as we play.

BUILDING PLANES

Each player will build their plane as they’d build a
character. You begin with a chassis and then can add on to the basics of that.
Stunts act as the currency to buy these things. Planes come in one of three categories: Light,
Medium, Heavy. That affects how much they can add, how fast they can go, how they move, and how tough they are.

Each plane type has a movement template, damage tracks, and
a capacity. A movement template shows which moves you can pick at the top
of each round. Better handing planes can go further and have more “green” or
easy movement you can use to gain an advantage. Planes which handle worse will
have more “red” or difficult movement which cause stress. You can find more on
that in the Flying & Fighting section.

Just like characters, planes can take damage. Every plane
has a damage track, system boxes, and the usual armor & damage resistance
values. Planes can also take tags and consequences. Just like character
consequences, plane damage effects get added to a player’s deck. They clear at the end of a scene if the
player has access to a mechanic and supplies.

Each plane chassis has a weight limit, representing how much
more cool stuff you can attach to the plane. It also limits the # of different weapons you
may attach. In play, if a plane goes over their weight limit for some reason
(jamming extra people in), they suffer from the “Overloaded” tag.

You have 5 Stunts to spend on your planes. You may give up a
character Stunt for an additional Stun to spend here.

PLANE CHASSIS

LIGHT CHASSIS

Starts with no DR and 6+ to damage (max DR 1 and 7+ to
damage). Starting damage boxes: 1, 2, 3. May equip up to 5 weight in add ons.
May purchase “Light Only” systems. Up to two weapon points.

MEDIUM CHASSIS

Starts with no DR and 6+ to damage (max DR 2 and 7+ to
damage). Starting damage boxes: 1, 2, 3, 4. Up to three weapon points. May
equip up to 7 weight in add ons.

HEAVY CHASSIS

Starts with 1DR (counts as an armor upgrade) and 6+ to
damage. (max. DR 2 and 8+ to damage). Starting damage boxes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. May
equip up to 8 weight in add ons. Up to four weapon points. May purchase “Heavy
Only” systems.

All planes begin with one front or rear mounted machinegun (2+5d
damage).

WHAT YOU CAN BUY:

ARMOR

Ablative Armor:
You gain an additional damage box equal to your highest damage box. This may
only be taken once. (1s, 1.5w)

High Density Armor:
You increase the number need to damage you by 1. (1s, 1w)

Reinforced Armor:
You reduce the damage taken from any attack by 1. (1s, 1w)

WEAPONS

You may swap out your
machine gun for these weapons marked with * at with a reduction of 1s, .5w).

Additional Machine
Gun: You may add a second gun with a different arc (front, rear, left,
right. Keep in mind you may only fire one weapon per round (unless you have a
gunner). (1s, .5w)

AutoCannons: Does
4+2d damage.Reduces the # needed to
wound by 1.* (2s, 1.5w)

Special Ammo:
Magnesium: Used with machine guns. If the target takes damage from the
initial hit, roll 4d at the beginning of their next action. (1s, .5w)

Special Weapon: Bombs: You can bomb ground targets.A narrative effect, sono damage recorded. Assume two bombs, double
weight for a second set. No Light
chassis.(1s, 1w)

Special Weapon:
Concussion: Creates an area of effectwhich can be used to do damage (6d+ 1d per target at highest armor, divided
evenly). Alternately can be used to tag everything in that range. Affects all
models with a base within 1. (1s, 1w)

Special Weapon:
Rockets: This weapon does 9d damage. It reduces the number needed to do
damage by 1 and does extra damage to ground targets. Assume two shots, double
the weight for a second set. Goes in a straight line, the width of the base
forward (or rear). (1s, 1.5w)

Special Weapon:
Sonics: Grants a +1 bump to tagging an opponent with a distraction. Useful
against many kinds of monsters. Excellent panic inducer. (1s, .5w)

Special Weapon:
Tracers: When you hit with this weapon, it automatically “Sets Up” the next
attack by an ally this round. Also useful for igniting fuel. (1s, .5w)

Co-Pilot: If you
take a random system hit, your co-pilot gets taken out first (no roll). Once
per scene, if the Co-Pilot’s still there, they may make a Repair check to clear
a Plane Damage consequence. No Light chassis. (1s, 1w)

Enhanced Sighting: You
can see extreme distances and gain a +1 to create advantages for surveillance
at a distance. (1s, 0w)

Flares: Useful
for blinding close planes, signaling the fleet, drawing off heat seekers,
creating distractions, and igniting fuel. Much easier to use than a flare
pistol. (1s, .5w)

Grappling Hook: Used
for effects like snatching things or event performing some stunts. Can be used
to cause damage. (1s, .5w)

Long Range Radio: You
can maintain contact over great distances via the Aetheric relay system. (1s, 0w)

Medical Kit: You
can perform serious treatment in the field, removing some consequences on the
ground with medical skills. (1s, 0w)

Net Launcher: Can
be used to tag a plane with an aspect. More useful against flying monsters. Can
be used outside of combat for containment. (1s,
.5w)

Night Navigator: You
have sensors for night flying and suffer no penalties for such flights. (1s, 0w)

Quiet Motor: You
can activate dampeners to reduce your engine’s noise. This can be used to gain
an advantage, evade monsters, or sneak up on targets. Non-combat only. (1s, .5w)

Repair Kit: You
can perform serious repairs in the field, removing Plane Damage and fixing some
damaged systems on the ground. (1s, .5w)

Scientific
Instruments: Your plane can do some basic scans from the air. As well once
landed you can use the system to do more sophisticated analysis on the ground. (1s, 0w)

Smoke/Chaff: You
can use these to add persistent aspects to the environment. These come with an
additional invoke. (1s, .5w)

MOVEMENT TEMPLATES

LIGHT A

5

8

4

8

2

3

4

7

8

9

6

2

2

4

7

8

9

6

1

7

8

9

LIGHT B

5

8

2

4

8

3

4

7

8

9

6

2

2

4

7

8

9

6

1

4

6

MEDIUM A

5

2

4

8

3

4

7

8

9

6

2

4

7

8

9

6

1

7

8

9

MEDIUM B

5

2

4

8

3

7

8

9

2

2

4

7

8

9

6

1

4

7

9

6

HEAVY A

5

4

8

3

4

7

8

9

6

2

4

7

8

9

6

1

7

8

9

HEAVY B

5

4

8

2

3

4

7

8

9

6

2

4

7

8

9

6

1

7

8

9

PLAY

Each player has a plane, mounted on a rectangular base. You
use your standard deck for making checks while flying. At the beginning of each
turn both players and the GM set their movement by marking it. Then we run
through the turn as usual, with players picking initiative order and passing.
On your turn, you will move based on your selection and then carry out any
actions.

MOVEMENT

To move place the appropriate template at the front of your
plane’s base. Then take your plane and place the rear of it at the other end of
the template. There are four kinds of moves. You can see the distance covered
in the row beside the movement:

8 Straight

7 A Slight Curve

4 Tight Turn

2 Move Straight and then Reverse
Your Direction.

There are a couple of other movement exceptions explained
below.

Movements marked in Red are stressful. When you do these,
you have a -1 to actions until you clear the stress. You can clear these on the
following round by doing a movement marked Green or by making a Pilot test and
taking 2 damage. If you are Stressed you may not do a movement marked in red.

If you end your movement in contact with another plane’s
base, make a Pilot check. If you fail you may either do 2 damage to your plane
or lose your action. Alternately you may choose to do 3d to both planes and
lose your action. In any case, move your figure so that bases are just in
contact, not overlapping.

All planes are on one of three relative altitudes: Low,
Medium, High. You may change one altitude per movement. You must be Low to
attack ground targets. Difference in altitude affects attacks and some
maneuvers. You don’t have to mark altitude changes when you plot your movement.

Stall: You may stall out to suddenly stop movement. You cannot
have moved more than a 3 on your previous turn. Stalling is stressful. When you
stall, you stay in place and immediately drop one or two elevations. You gain
+1 to defenses that round, but must make a piloting check on the following
round to avoid plane damage. You randomize your facing afterwards. Your next
movement cannot be greater than three.

Barrel Roll: Light and
Medium planes may perform sideways rolls. At the end of movement, you may opt
to make a simple Piloting check. If you succeed, you may shift your base to the
side in either direction by one base width.

Sometimes there will be terrain which interferes with the
battle (mountains, towers, stationary objects in flight). Planes which end up
within a base width of these may invoke them as bonus if someone’s attacking
them from the other side of the terrain. The tradeoff is that passing above or
within a base width of such a terrain requires a piloting check.

ACTIONS

On your turn you may perform actions, including attacking. A
good deal of the time you’ll be performing maneuvers to aid allies and set up
enemies. Sometimes you’ll be doing something to change the situation, and
sometimes you’ll be tagging someone with an effect. In mechanical terms, this
is creating an aspect. It’s especially important in dogfighting.

In order to do full damage to a target plane, you have to
activate an aspect on the target. Otherwise you do partial damage.

Usually this will involve things like moving to get the
plane in your sights, tipping the wing, playing chicken, diving out of the sun,
reading their patterns, and so on. You just have to describe the maneuver
you’re pulling off. You make a test, resisted by the opponent. If you succeed
you tag them and set them up. This gives you a free invoke for doing full
damage on them. You can also use it for the usual purposes.

Maneuvers will use different result types depending on the
maneuver you describe. Generally if the maneuver revolves around daredevil
flying, you use Piloting for repulls. If it involves perception and calculation,
you use Navigation for repulls. Aspects created via maneuvers can be invoked by
any of your allies.

The Golden Rule of Maneuvers: Pilots are smart and learn from
past mistakes. Therefore you cannot describe the same maneuver or trick twice
in the same combat.

Clearing Aspects: Invokes on aspects clear after you use them.
A pilot may also spend their action to clear an invoke (more with a strong
Piloting test). As well, because of the high-speed nature of a dogfight, any
aspect you create is fragile and will go away after your next action.

Consequences from damage on enemies can also be invoked to
do full attacks.

Tailing: If you end your move in the rear arc of an enemy plane
after both of you have moved, you may attempt to create a special aspect:
Tailing. You must be on the same or higher level. You repull with Navigation
for this test, the target plane repulls with Piloting. Tailing works like other
aspects, but with a bonus. Before movement the next round, that pilot must
declare if they are going Straight, Left, or Right.

Shaking a Tail: Clearing a Tailing aspect requires an active
test of the escaping pilot vs. the plane on their tail (rather than a test
against a passive difficulty).

SHOOTING

You attack with Combat (repull Gunnery) and evade with
Physical (repull Piloting).

Weapons have an arc. If any portion of a plane’s base falls
within that arc, they’re a legal target. Exception: If you’re within a base
width of a plane and they’re on another elevation, they may not be targeted.

If your target’s in range band 4, they gain a +1 bump to
their defense test. If your target’s Low and you’re High (or vice versa), they
gain a +1 bump to their defense test.

As usual, Defenders win ties. However if an attacker tie a
defense result, they gain a +1 boost to any attack they make on the same plane
in the following turn. If a plane has three or more “armor upgrades” they lose
ties on defense.

Planes which have taken a stressful movement have a -1 to
actions (but not to reactions).

If you hit, you do your weapon’s fixed damage. In order to
do your full damage, you must invoke an aspect on the target. This can be a
free invocation or cost a fate point (for example from environmental effects or
damage consequences). If you do so, you do your fixed plus your rolled damage.

If an allied plane is in contact (or really close by) a
targeted plane, you will hit them if you miss your shot (Law of Dramatics). The
same goes for bad guys though.

DAMAGE

When you take damage you have to deal with it. After
subtracting any DR, you have several options:

Mark Off Damage
Boxes: Mark offone of
your plane’s Damage Boxes. This takes care of that much damage.

Suffer Plane Damage.
You can take Minor (2 pts for 1 card), a Moderate (4 pts for 2 cards), and a Severe
(6 pts for 3 cards). Plane Damage cards get shuffled into your deck. They can
be repaired after a fight. If you draw a Plane damage and can’t draw past it,
you can either take a BLACK X or
concede the fight and pull away to safety. If you gain three BLACK X’s your
plane’s destroyed and you eject, with all that entails.

Take a Random Hit:
Reduce the damage taken by three. The GM rolls on a random effects table.

Pilot Hit: You
may take damage on your character. For every one point you mitigate, your character
takes two damage.

If you cannot or do not want to deal with the damage, your
plane is taken out. If you opt to concede and pull out of a fight, you’ll gain
Fate points based on the # of Plane damage, Consequences and system damage from
random hits you’ve taken.